Our museum is based in County Buildings built in 1857 as a barracks for the Denbighshire Militia. The militia kept their armoury upstairs in what is now Court Room 1 including guns and ammunition which had previously been held at Chester Castle. Militia officers lived in the building, whilst the squaddies were billeted in houses around town. They would train for one month per year.
By 1877 the militia had moved to the newly opened Hightown Barracks and County Buildings re-opened as the town’s Police Station and Magistrates Court in 1879 following some remodelling both internally and externally. The Denbighshire Constabulary were based on the ground floor of the building, with cells built to accommodate prisoners, including drunk and disorderly.
Following the removal of North Wales Police to Bodhyfryd in 1976-77, County Buildings lay empty until it became part of the local art college and opened as a brand new museum in 1996 and underwent a major refurbishment in 2010 – 2011.
The building also houses Wrexham Archives and Local studies which hold records relating to the history of the County Borough of Wrexham since its creation in 1996 and also records relating to the area when it was part of the old counties of Denbighshire and Flintshire.